‘A shot of adrenaline for tired ears’: our classical writers on the music that energises them

On the day that Radio 3 launches Unwind, a station dedicated to calming and restorative music, we choose instead the pieces we go to to excite, motivate and thrill us

BBCSO/Oramo review – Kirill Gerstein plays the near unplayable

The pianist delivered the thundering arpeggios and glittering octave runs of Ferrucio Busoni’s prodigiously difficult 1904 piano concerto with total authority

Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott review – an exuberant final hurrah

With Stott announcing her retirement as a concert pianist, there was some sadness at the ending of a 40-year-old musical partnership. But their playing was exquisite

Yuja Wang and Víkingur Ólafsson review – an unforgettable night with two star pianists

From the breathtakingly intimate dynamics during Berio’s Wasserklavier to the astonishingly crisp articulation of Schubert’s Fantasia in F minor, this concert was a masterclass in clarity and poise

The week in classical: Welsh National Opera’s Il trittico; Oxford international song festival – review

Even as they fight for survival, WNO give their all in Puccini at his most affecting – and funniest

Mark Kermode on… composer John Williams, master of unforgettable blockbuster soundtracks

From his killer two-note Jaws riff to the sheer uplift of Star Wars, Williams captures a movie’s essence with tunes that stick. Now the Hollywood great is celebrated in a Disney+ documentary

LSO/Adès review – Adámek’s concerto pits Isabelle Faust’s violin against a bullying orchestra

Follow Me by Ondřej Adámek is a vivid work that upends traditional relationships, while exhilarating and faultless Beethoven symphonies bookend the concert

Holst: Sāvitri album review – underrated jewel of 20th-century British music

Switching a mezzo for a soprano in the title role, this impressive recording of one of Holst’s most important works is a fitting celebration of the 150th anniversary of his birth

Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos 1-5 album review – complete survey opens with bite and promise

The Spanish quartet are recording all 15 of Shostakovich’s string quartets, this opening volume features the first five, all given refined performances

Rigoletto review – Miller’s mafioso take still brings style and insights to Verdi’s masterpiece

Jonathan Miller’s iconic staging for ENO is 40 years old but with Richard Farnes conducting and a striking debut from Robyn Allegra Parton as Gilda, this remains a vibrant and engaging production

Pagliacci review – Mid Wales Opera send in the clowns for a stylish and emotive evening

Cavallo’s short opera has been downscaled for a chamber orchestra and given a simple but effective staging, rounded off with some surprise razzle dazzle

Unknown waltz by Chopin found in library vault after nearly 200 years

The score, on a card bearing Frédéric Chopin’s hand-written name, was discovered by a curator at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York

Groping, greed and the lust for great power: what Wagner’s Ring Cycle tells us about Trump v Harris

US politics may lack swords and spears, dragons and talking birds, but Wagner’s tale of money, power, rivalry and grudges still carries striking parallels with the US elections

Nonclassical at 20 review – synths, screams and bubble wrap as record label celebrates with the LSO

Gabriel Prokofiev’s avant garde record label marked its 20th birthday with an engaging and energetic scaled up showcase

Bojan Bujić obituary

Other lives: Lecturer at Reading and Oxford universities with a specialist knowledge of the musical landscape of Europe